By Stuart Foster, Community Advocate Contributing Writer
WESTBOROUGH – The Westborough Rotary Club is seeking donations to help fund a new seasonal display of festive winter lighting, which will go up in the downtown area on Nov. 28.
The Rotary Club has installed winter lights with the help of the Westborough Department of Public Works (DPW) for the last fifty years. This year, though, it has decided to hire professional decorating company Christmas Décor to help revamp and rework the lighting tradition.
“A happy smile, hopefully, will be put on especially the children’s faces,” Rotary Club Lighting Committee Chair Jim O’Connor recently told the Community Advocate. “People will be proud of downtown Westborough, and it couldn’t come at a better time when we’re still struggling with COVID and other issues.”
“Hopefully it will be a cheerful note going into the holiday season,” he continued.
O’Conner outlined much of the Rotary Club’s current plan back in March in a presentation to the Select Board. A few months later, in June, the Rotary Club announced a competition to design a new logo for the Winter Lights display. Now, the Rotary Club is beginning its fundraising push to support this new effort.
“We are counting on the good graces and the good nature of the citizenry in Westborough and I think they’ll come through full-square,” O’Connor said.
The new installation will include decorations on 24 of Westborough’s lamp posts with simulated garland, small white twinkle lights and a red bow by the light at the top of the post.
The Westborough Rotary Club’s Environment Committee has organized a drive for collecting and recycling bags and plastics from household waste. Although bags plastics are ubiquitously in use, the economics of recycling them has been generally unattractive for businesses. These plastics eventually make their way in our fresh-water lakes and oceans destroying habitats and damaging the environment. The objective of this drive is to increase awareness of this serious issue and invite community members in the region to become actively involved in addressing it locally.
When Milford hospital physician Katie Northrup approached her friend Kelley Petralia of Westborough Connects asking to help obtain face shields for their staff to combat PPE shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelley contacted Elliott Rittenberg, President of the Rotary Club of Westborough. Westborough Rotary and Westborough Connects had worked together on a Rotary funded grant over the past year, and Kelley knew she could count on the club for help. Thus, began a Rotary project to source materials and build 100 face shields for donation to Milford Hospital. Elliott reached out to Victor Tom, Past President of the Bedford Rotary Club and current District Grants Subcommittee Chair for help with funding, and Victor suggested to solicit the assistance of other Rotary Clubs.